Coalition Applauds Elimination of Global ISIS Leadership, Commends President Tinubu, CDS, and CAS on Historic Metele Enclave Victory

The Coalition of Civil Society Groups for Peace, Security, Good Governance, Equity and Justice has extended its warmest congratulations to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, and the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, following the neutralization of the global second-in-command of ISIS, Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, also known as Abubakar Mainok.

In a statement, the national coordinator of the coalition, Comrade James Okoronkwo, said the precision joint operation executed by Nigerian Armed Forces in seamless coordination with United States forces in the Metele enclave of Borno State represents the single most significant counterterrorism triumph in the Lake Chad Basin in recent memory. Comrade James Okoronkwo noted that by removing al-Minuki, the Nigerian military has successfully decapitated the operational, economic, and media nerve center of global terrorism on African soil.

The coalition expressed dismay over what it called premature and unwarranted skepticism trailing the achievement, with critics claiming the terrorist leader had been reportedly killed in the Birnin Gwari axis in 2024. Comrade James Okoronkwo said, “We must educate these public skeptics that the fog of war in asymmetric security operations often involves complex identity shielding, lookalikes, and false aliases used by terrorist networks to preserve their command structure.”

He added that intelligence reports leading up to May 2026 deployed extensive digital forensics, phone intercepts, and human surveillance, confirming with 100% certainty that this strike was the definitive end of al-Minuki. “The 2024 report was a clear case of mistaken battlefield identity, and using historical anomalies to discredit a validated, internationally recognized victory is a disservice to our troops,” Comrade James Okoronkwo stated.

The coalition said the complex mission stands as a testament to the visionary leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose foreign policy and defense diplomacy have successfully renewed critical intelligence-sharing and partnerships with international allies. It equally commended the military leadership under General Olufemi Oluyede and Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu for their operational brilliance and tactical re-engineering of the theater of operations.

The coalition warned all political detractors and armchair security analysts to cease the politicization of national security, stating that the death of al-Minuki and several of his foreign lieutenants has broken the spine of ISWAP. Comrade James Okoronkwo said, “We stand solidly behind our Armed Forces as they press forward to completely sanitize every inch of Nigerian territory.” He concluded with the words, “Long live the Armed Forces of Nigeria! Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!”